USD offense soars post Bryant

USD players practice their swing as the baseball diamond gets sprayed with water before the start of their game against Aztecs.

USD players practice their swing as the baseball diamond gets sprayed with water before the start of their game against Aztecs. (Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego)

Kirk Kenney

Kris Bryant still looms larger than life over the USD baseball team. An 18-foot banner of the slugging third baseman hangs along the first base side of Fowler Park.

“He is always looking down,” USD’s Connor Joe said of his former teammate.

Bryant had a season for the ages last year that earned him the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top amateur player last season.

But the Toreros have emerged from Bryant’s Bunyanesque shadow this season. In fact, USD ranks among the nation’s top 10 teams in batting average (.326) and scoring (7.6 runs a game).

That’s 40 points higher and better than a run a game more than the 2013 team averaged.

“This year, I said early on, the offense has a chance to be better,” said USD coach Rich Hill. “People looked at me, furrowed their eyebrows and were like, ‘What are you, an idiot?’ “

Bryant left a gaping hole in USD’s offense when he signed with the Chicago Cubs after being selected as the second overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Consider:

— Bryant hit home runs that were both numerous and prodigious. He led the nation with 31 homers (USD had 64 as a team). That was 10 more than Elon’s Ryan Kinsella, who was second in the nation. In fact, Bryant homered more than 223 of 296 TEAMS hit last season.

— Bryant also led the nation in slugging percentage (.820), runs scored (80) and total bases (187) and was among the leaders in RBI (62). He batted .329.

“Everything was centered around him,” said Hill.

“It was getting him up in a situation where they couldn’t walk him. ... You have to think three batters ahead. You can’t sacrifice bunt. You have to hit and run all the time. You really have to put yourself in a position with a guy on first base looking ahead to when Kris was coming up.”

Hill believed the Toreros offense could be more balanced and more athletic this year.

USD (27-14) wasn’t going to hit as many home runs — although the Toreros’ 29 home runs midway through the season ranked 11th in the nation.

“But that’s just one piece of the puzzle when you’re trying to score runs as an offense,” said Hill. “One through nine, there’s not a soft spot. We can pretty much do whatever we want. It’s a much more balanced approach to scoring runs.”

Added Hill: “The other guys on our team are pretty good, too. They had a swagger about them.”

Infielder Andrew Daniel is among those who plays with confidence, an athletic arrogance, if you will. Daniel said the key is each player recognizing and focusing on what he does best.

“Guys have been doing a good job this year knowing their own abilities,” said Daniel, “and not trying to do too much or be a Kris Bryant because, obviously, there’s only one Kris Bryant.

Added Daniel: “You can’t expect to get eight runs a game. It is a little surprise, but I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that we were that good.”

— Junior transfer Jesse Jenner (Steele Canyon), viewed as a backup catcher coming into the season, earned his way into the starting lineup by leading the Toreros in batting (now second at .378) while driving in 24 runs.

— Sophomore shortstop Kyle Holder (Grossmont High) was recruited for his glove and many observers regard him as the finest defensive shortstop the Toreros have ever had. Holder’s bat has been a bonus. He is hitting .320 with two homers and 24 RBI.

— Senior first baseman Josh Goossen-Brown (.323, 4 HR, 23 RBI), a transfer from Cal State Northridge, has provided a boost to the offense and also closed on the mound.

— Sophomore outfielder Ben Wylly (.237, 3 HR, 22 RBI) is the only starter not batting over .300, but he has been a run-producer nonetheless.

“We worked and built our new identity and everyone bought in,” said Joe. “We accept who we are. There’s not going to be anyone putting balls over the fence every other game like Kris did, but we accept it and we love it. ...

“Last year if you made an out, you thought, ‘Kris will clean up for me.’ This year it’s ‘All eight other guys will clean up.’ “